Job Done

摘要

Cutting through a moody grey sky, three VC10 tankers and six Tornado GR4s bombers arrived in formation overhead RAF Marham, precisely on time at 13.20 on June 3.rn"Its absolutely superb that we have drawn 19 years of combat operations to a close in such a stylish and momentous event as this," said Wg Cdr Gerry Mayhew, OC of No.XIII Squadron who led the formation of six Tornados. No.XIII Squadron was the final GR4 unit to deploy on Operation Telic.rnSpeaking about the final Tornado missions over Iraq, Wg Cdr Mayhew told AIR International: "From a combat perspective it is very, very quiet, which is a great thing because we have managed to withdraw the land forces successfully over the last few months, and without really needing to do anything in the kinetic sense. That's meant a lot of presence activity and shows of force if necessary,"rnWg Cdr Mayhew and Gp Capt Colin Basnett, RAF Marham's Station Commander, flew the final GR4 sortie over Iraq on May 31 in Tornado GR4 ZG792/'128. It was the last ever combat operation for the RAF fast-jet fleet in Operation Telic.